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Recreational Activities
Home : Ranger
Districts : Española Ranger District
: Trails
Trail 282, Guaje Canyon, Part 1
(Also known as Cañada Bonito)
  
Length: 2 Miles (3.2 km)
Difficulty: Easy
Use: Heavy
Seasons: Spring, summer, fall and in winter(for Nordic skiing)
Lowest and Highest Point: 9,000 feet to 9,650 feet
Trail Access: This section of the Guaje Canyon Trail 282 is best
reached by way of the Camp May Road (FR 1), which travels northwest
from Highway 501 approximately one and a half miles west of Los
Alamos. The trailhead is a quarter of a mile below Camp May, just
beyond the large ski area parking lot. The trail, formerly a forest
road, starts just north of Camp May Road.
MAP: USGS Valle Toledo
Description:
This section of the Guaje Canyon Trail is an old forest road
now closed to motorized vehicles, and is in excellent condition.
From Camp May Road, the trail curves northward through mixed
conifer forest along the side of a ridge and ascends slightly
for approximately three-quarters of a mile. It soon passes
a junction with the popular Pajarito Nordic Ski Trail, and
then drops down into the Cañada Bonito grassland, a
research natural area.
The trail borders the research natural area for one mile,
and then ascends a low ridge marking the actual rim of the
extinct volcanic caldera as it approaches the boundary with
the Valles Caldera
National Preserve. The trail then descends through stands
of aspen and fir to Pipeline Road, where signs mark the continuation
of the trail.
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Notes:
 The
first section of Guaje Canyon Trail passes beside Cañada
Bonito research natural area, a high elevation Thurber fescue
community. The trail winds through waist-high grasses outside
the boundary of the research area, which is set aside solely
for research and educational purposes. Cañada Bonito
is unique in that it is one of very few high mountain grasslands
in the area, which has not been subjected to livestock grazing
since 1943. the grassland is closed to the public with the
establishment of the nuclear laboratory in Los Alamos, while
other mountain grasslands in the area have been heavily grazed.
Hikers and bikers should take special care to stay on the
trail to protect the natural resource. Cañada Bonito
is only the first section of the Guaje Canyon Trail, which
extends eastward past Guaje Reservoir to Upper Guaje Road
(FR 422).
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